Crews battle three-alarm fire in Granville Entertainment District

Crews battled a three-alarm fire in Vancouver’s Granville Entertainment District Saturday morning.

The fire was at the Samesun hostel at 1020 Granville St. — a two-storey building near the corner of Nelson St.

The two-storey building is as an annex to the larger four-storey building beside it. Together, the two buildings make up the Samesun hostel.

The smaller building houses luggage, common spaces and a kitchen, while the larger building is the main hostel quarters.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Assistant Chief Ken Gemmill told CityNews the smaller building is a “total loss.”

Gemmill says they were called in around 2:30 a.m.

“Heavy flames and smoke coming from the rear of the building looked like a vehicle and a building on fire,” Gemmill said. “It’s only a two-storey building. Everyone was evacuated.”

Crews were still battling a three-alarm fire in Granville’s Entertainment District at 5:55 a.m. after being called in around 2:30 a.m. (City of Vancouver)

Granville Street was blocked off in both directions between Smithe and Nelson.

Around 30-40 people from the Samesun Hostel and neighbouring Hotel Belmont were evacuated as a precaution.

Gemmill says two people from the hostel were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. A firefighter was also taken to hospital with minor injuries, but was quickly released and returned to continue fighting the blaze.

Assistant Fire Chief Pierre Morin told CityNews the firefighter was injured when the ceiling fell down on him.

“The roof did collapse, (but) we had people out by then,” Morin said

The fire appears to have started in a vehicle before spreading to the hostel, Gemmill says.

A large police presence was at the scene and four transit buses were called in to keep evacuees warm and sheltered.

-With files from Raynaldo Suarez.